MINOX ZA5 1.5-8x scope

just been playing around with a sample list MINOX ZA5 1.5-8x 32 scope i picked up from SWFAs sample list.

some of you have probably been following my attempts to scope the ar-15 , and this minox looks like a winner on paper. i had been hearing how great the glass is on these and so on from a lot of bench shooters. with steep 50% off retail prices i thought it was time to try some of this "conquest' level glass and the 5x mag features. --

minox scopes has had a reputation for "mushy" turrets , the one i got seems to have very positive clicks in windage and elevation, there is a bit of slack in the elevation , generally very positive feel in the hardware of this unit. it feels similar to the vortex scopes i have on hand except they don't have the slack in the elevation this minox has.

just playing around with the scope i have noticed several things --

compared to the excellent vortex viper it is not brighter that you can see, it does bring in more fine details like tree bark when looking from a sunny field into a dark patch of underbrush. color is very good. can't say for sure it is better than the viper, due to my old beat up eyes, but it is better than the diamondback and the optisan by leaps and bounds in the color and fine details.

on 1.5x it is really 1.5x --when zoomed out to 8x it seems a little more than 8x best i could tell. one of the great features of this scope is it don't seem to lose much light zooming up from low power to high, i suppose that is where the brighter glass come in mostly in the higher ranges of magnification.

it seems as bright on 8x as any were--

this scope has the german #4 , minox has their #4 rect opened up a little more than zeiss does. however i hardly notice it and it seems quite nice to me.

the sweet spot on this scope seems to be 3x and up--though is seems OK down on the lower settings. those low settings and long eye relief make the scope a bit fiddely.

and now were down to the "engineering give and take" on the minox. this scope is set up for a big game rifle --it has oodles of eye-- relief 4"+ hell this one seems to have 5"--but that may just be me. it also has a very tight eye box think like the opposite of the ACOG, where you got your eyeball crammed up the rear lens--LOL! this minox-- you better find some space --stick it one there like it was a 338LM and your getting all-most enough eye relief to see out the damn thing.

this adds up to a very challenging scope to set up for an ar-15. it has to be mounted perfectly , you head has to be in the perfect spot , you'll have to train yourself to do everything perfectly when you throw this set up on your shoulder. there is no slack--none at all--

the eye box is so tight i am thinking of returning this one-- thats how tight is is. and we once trained with shit like this--so i ain't no stranger to fiddely hardware.

had minox gave a little on the eye relief went to say a more normal 3"-3.5" got a little more eye box , they could have opened up the field of view some more too-- i think they would have had a world beater on their hands.

as it is a viper is all most as good in the glass and so much more easy to work with --it ain't funny.

all this equals===== if your going to be quick with this scope your going to have to work at it.

i got a feeling though that it will grow on me --despite its some what iffy decisions minox made on eye relief and FOV --it does have great glass--and the more i use it the better is seems.

got the a2 stock that is a little longer on there and that relly helped, now when i pull it to my shoulder i naturally hit the center of the "eye-box".

another little tid-bit on this minox -- although it seems to have a very small sweet spot. it don't vary much at all from 1.5x-8x mag.

so once you get set in the sweet spot you can turn the little rubber ring anywhere you want and not get fuzzy or black out.
it sure is looking better-- amazing what a little extra stock length can do for one of these.

i think it is going to do fine now.

although i will say i never saw such a "fiddely" "tweeky" and 'finikey" optic --since i was in the employ of the great white uncle back in the day.